Apples

Have you ever asked for something for your birthday and not gotten what you asked for? Maybe the gift you asked for was too expensive, or maybe your parents knew the gift you asked for wasn’t what was best for you.

In 1 John 5:14, John writes that, when you go before God in prayer, you can have confidence God hears you. And not only that! In verse 15, John even says God will give you what you ask for.

Now hold on just a minute, you might be thinking. “There are times when I have asked God for something and didn’t receive it.” You may wonder, “Is God even listening to me?”

Notice, however, the can’t-miss phrase in verse 14: “according to his will.†The real reason you may not receive what you ask for from God might be because you aren’t asking for something that aligns with God’s good and perfect will (Romans 12:2). It may be your will for Michigan to win the national championship, or to get a new Lamborghini, or for Chris from biology class to ask you out on a date. But just because you ask God for these things does not mean they are what God wants.

As believers, we should regularly ask, “Since God is good, is what I’m asking for something that aligns with His will?” Seek to include prayer requests you know are according to God’s will based on His Word, the Bible. As your will becomes more and more like God’s will, you can have confidence God hears you and will give you what you ask for (Psalm 37:4). • Jonathon Fuller

• The book of Psalms in the Bible is full of prayers from God’s people. What are some things the psalmists prayed about? How did they pray according to God’s will?

• Read Hebrews 4:14-16 and 1 Peter 5:7. In Christ, is there anything you can’t bring before God in prayer? How could you use the model of the Psalms and the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 to pray for these things?

This is the confidence we have before him: If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 1 John 5:14 (CSB)

Read Verses:

Matthew 22:35-40; 1 Corinthians 3:1-9; Ephesians 4:1-16